M is for... Movellans

When the TARDIS brought the Doctor and Romana to the Dalek homeworld of Skaro they encountered another group of visitors. These were the beautiful Movellans. Their spacecraft, shaped like an inverted top, was able to bury itself in the ground as a means of defence.

In charge was Commander Sharrel, and the Doctor became intrigued by how secretive he was. When one of their number was killed by a dalek, they forbade him looking on the body, claiming it was taboo.

On becoming trapped under a concrete pillar, he was surprised at how easily a trio of the beings were able to lift it off him. 

The Doctor then discovered that the Movellans had specifically come to Skaro to discover why the Daleks were burying into the rubble of their long-abandoned city, many years after they had left it. 

It transpired that they were after the same goal as the Daleks - their creator Davros. They and the Daleks had been waging a war against each other for many years, and both thought that the Kaled scientist might gain them an advantage. When the dead Movellan reappeared unscathed, the Doctor and Romana realised that they were fully autonomous androids.

Both races had programmed their tactical computers to a point of stalemate, and an illogical, creative humanoid mind was needed to break this. Unable to capture Davros, Sharrell decided to use the Doctor instead.

They had a weapon called the Nova Device, which could ignite a planet's entire atmosphere, and primed this to detonate once they left. 

Movellans had a weakness however - an external power pack / brain attached to their belts. Two of their number - Lan and Agella - were reprogrammed to help a group of freed Dalek slaves breach their ship and deactivate them all. Sharrel was destroyed.

The ship was then used to take the slaves home - taking a captive Davros with them.

The Movellans later gained their sought-after advantage when they developed a virus which attacked Dalek systems. The Daleks once again looked to Davros to help them overcome this.

In attempting to evade a sentient water creature which was pursuing Bill Potts, the Doctor took her in the TARDIS into the heart of the Dalek-Movellan conflict, hoping that it wouldn't dare follow. The attempt failed.

Played by: Peter Straker (Sharrel), Suzanne Danielle (Agella), Tony Osoba (Lan), Cassandra (Movellan Guard). Appearances: Destiny of the Daleks (1979), The Pilot (2017).

• For the - ironically - highly illogical aspects of the Movellans, do check out my recent "What's Wrong With..." post on Destiny of the Daleks.
• The Daleks we see in The Pilot are of the Time War variety, which implies that this may not necessarily be the original Dalek-Movellan war.
• Lalla Ward was rather annoyed that Danielle was getting so much press attention when this was her first story as the new companion. She starred in the final Carry On... film of the classic run (Carry On Emmanuelle) and also featured opposite Christopher Lee in Arabian Adventure. After a lengthy relationship with actor Patrick Mower, she married golfer Sam Torrance.
• Jamaican performer Straker is better known as a singer. Most of his acting has been in stage musicals in the West End.
• Osoba - best known as a regular in BBC sitcom Porridge - went on to make two further appearances in Doctor Who - Dragonfire and Kill The Moon.
• The new version of June Hudson's Movellan costume at the Doctor Who Experience in 2017: